Clients often ask me to teach them how to use “this whole social media thing.” They expect me to have some magic formula that will make their blog posts, videos, and photos go viral and I hate having to tell them that there simply isn’t one. There are, however, some helpful hints and tips that I can provide for how to build a social media presence.
What is Social Media?
Like Julie Andrews once sang in The Sound of Music, “let’s start at the very beginning. It’s a very good place to start.”
Social media is a pretty broad term for digital platforms on the internet that engage people in a social way. These platforms include blog sites (my favorites are Tumblr and Wordpress), Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, just to name a few. By the time you read this, a new platform will probably have been created.
There are so many options…what do I need to use?
That’s up to you. And it really depends on your needs and the interests of your audience. For example, if you are a small business that has a visual component to your products or industry, Instagram, which is a photo-sharing platform, or Pinterest, which serves as a digital bulletin board, would be wonderful options for you. Or if you’re an education-based organization, incorporating a regular blog to your site or Facebook are ideal, because both allow you to disseminate a lot of information to people with each post.
If you're just starting out, I highly recommend utilizing blogs and Facebook. These sort of content-driven platforms are an excellent way to reach a mass audience, no matter what you are trying to sell.
Okay, Social Media is important, so can I just have the intern do it?
The short answer to this one is no.
The longer answer is—yes, but only if you bring in an expert to create a social media plan for you and establish your organization’s social media voice and policies. There’s a good chance that most of your interns are pretty tech savvy, but that doesn’t mean that they understand the nuances of writing in a voice that isn’t theirs. And if you, as an organization, haven’t really taken the time to discuss what that voice sounds like, or aren’t sure how to figure out what that voice has to say, then the power of social media will have lost its effect. What’s the point of taking the time to launch a new campaign if you know that it won’t be effective?
I just don’t have the time or money to invest in this right now...
I understand how tough the economic climate is for small businesses right now. That’s why I custom build all of my packages around your budget and your needs.
Recent research published by the Pew Research Center, found that nearly two-thirds of all American adults use social media. Which makes it easy to see why, according to HubSpot's 2012 Report on The State of Inbound Marketing, 62% of companies say that social media is the most important lead source for new business. And that was back in 2012!
If you're not taking advantage of the opportunity that social media provides for your business, then you are missing out on making more sales and bringing in more profit. If your reasoning behind not investing in social media is that you don't have the time or the money, then look no further. That’s where I come in—I’ll focus on those things for you so that you can go back to working on the bigger picture projects that will keep pushing you towards success.
Learn more about the social media services that HYC offers.